{"nrhp_refnum":"12001115","name":"Vesta Accumulator Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2100 S. Indiana Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.85601947200007,"lon":-87.62280316199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2013-01-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story masonry and heavy timber loft factory at 2100 South Indiana Avenue in Chicago's South Loop, within the historic Motor Row area. Chicago architect Carl Almquist designed it, and it was completed in 1913.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is locally significant under Criterion A for Industry as the first purpose-built factory of the Vesta Accumulator Company, a nationally known maker of automobile batteries and lamps. It was the company's only known manufacturing facility during its peak growth from 1913 to 1929. It also represents the specialized auto-parts manufacturing that supported Chicago's automobile industry.","narrative":"Built in 1913 at the southwest corner of South Indiana Avenue and East 21st Street, this four-story loft building in Chicago's Motor Row area was designed by architect Carl Almquist. It has heavy timber framing, brick walls and Classical Revival limestone details on its street-facing fronts. Inside, the open floors and exposed timber and brick reflect its factory purpose. It was the first purpose-built factory of the Vesta Accumulator Company, which made batteries, headlamps and other electrical parts for automobiles. Between 1913 and 1929 the company developed products such as battery-supplied electric lighting for commercial trucks and worked directly with major carmakers, including Ford. After Vesta opened a separate service station in 1920, the whole building was devoted to manufacturing. The company left for a new plant in 1929. The building is recognized for its place in Chicago's automobile-parts industry. It now stands vacant, with aluminum windows and storefronts and some partitions left from an unfinished condominium conversion.","period_of_significance":"1913-1929","architect_builder":"Carl Almquist","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Listed current function is vacant/not in use; the first floor retains partitions from a failed mid-2000s condominium conversion.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.114563-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/8926/28892625/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12001115.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001115/d9d2b1d61c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001115/d9d2b1d61c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jackson2329","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vesta_Accumulator_Building_-_Front_Corner_View.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jackson2329</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vesta_Accumulator_Building_-_Front_Corner_View.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892625","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q78525737"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/vesta-accumulator-company-building-12001115/"}